Danny Phantom  The beast inside
by DEAD-ACCOUNT-08
Summary: Another one of Vlad's plots go wrong. Now Danny has to suffer for it, being bitten by a werewolf. He flees Amity park in fear of harming friends and family but he falls dangerously ill. Can Danny survive and be cured in time? [COMPLETE]
1. Proligue

Prologue

"Listen!" Vlad Masters snapped slapping his hand impatiently on polished surface of the desk. "I don't care whether you do it on a full moon or not!" A silver she-wolf sat across from him, staring calmly into his blazing blue eyes. The ghost animal's gaze tuned into a glare. She watched him steadily with glowing white eyes, the color of the moon. "Your intentions disgust me halfa", she said, spitting out the word 'halfa' like some rotting piece of meat. "I am no murderer or 'hit man' as you call it." Vlad could see her getting mad. "I do not kill to settle grudges, I kill only when necessary.

She continued. An evil smile formed at the corner of the man's mouth. "Ah, but you don't really have say in that do you?" he replied tauntingly. The wolf snarled at him, showing off her unnatural nail shaped fangs. "No need to get touchy" Vlad soothed, slightly intimidated now. She seemed to sense he was getting unnerved and snorted with satisfaction.

Pulling a more serious face, the she-wolf said "If you send me to do your deed tonight innocent lives could be lost" "Surly you have some control over your actions, even on a full moon." He replied "Do not underestimate the night's power Vlad!" she growled. Now it was his turn to get mad. "I have power over you and much of the ghost zone, and soon I will have power over your precious night!" he yelled. "You better be at Amity Park tonight, you better kill Jack, and you KNOW what will happen to you and the rest of your pack if you don't do what I say! NOW GO!" The silver wolf sulked quickly out. She paused at the door and warned "Remember, if anything goes wrong, an unwanted wolf will not be my problem." Vlad stood in rage, sending his chair toppling over. With that, she slipped out of his office.


	2. Another 'normal' day

Chapter 1

Another 'normal' day

The Hallways of Casper High School buzzed with teenagers. Groups of friends chatting and minding their own business, the occasional person would zigzag through the crowd, trying to make it to their next class on time. One voice rose above the murmur of the crowd, "Fenton!" Danny Fenton burst through the crowd in panic, in his wake Dash Baxter chased him mercilessly down the hall like a wild animal. The bully had an ink stain dribbled down the sleeve of his leather jacket. Danny's friends, Tucker and Sam stood at the side of the crowd, watching in utter confusion. With one short "hide me" The raven haired boy leapt in the locker beside them, shutting himself in. He heard a small 'click' and assumed Tucker locked him in. A loud bang shook the entire locker, causing Danny to fall down despite the fragment of space he had. Dash's voice could be heard through the vents of the door shouting, "You're gonna pay for that Fenton!" "Why? All of your jackets look the same!" Danny replied bravely. Another bang rattled the locker, followed by an angry growl from Dash. That didn't scare Danny as much as the next thing he heard. "What is going on out here people!" He flinched, Mr. Lancer. Dead silence. "Well?" his impatient voice sounded outside. "I'll tell you what happened Sir" Dash said in his innocent voice. From within the locker Danny mockingly impersonated the bully, knowing he was about to tell a quickly thought up lie. "I was talking to Paulina when Danny came along and had this pen-""I see, and he got ink on your jacket," Mr. Lancer interrupted "and where, may I ask is Danny now?" The boy heard Dash tap on the locker door. "He's hiding." "Whose locker is this anyway?" the teacher asked. "Mine." Danny heard Valerie's irritated voice off to the side and flinched again. More trouble. The lock to the door was clicking outside. Danny had to think fast. Invisibility! What was he thinking? Just before the door opened the young halfa vanished into thin air. Mr. Lancer turned to Dash saying "I hope this isn't a joke Mr. Baxter," Dash stared and said nothing. "I'll see you in detention at three then." He replied walking away. "But that's when Football practice is!" The bully protested. The teacher paused and turned to look him in the eyes. "I know" Dash gave the locker one last astounded look and stormed away while Valerie slammed it shut. She seemed a bit shaken too."What are you playing at?" She asked Sam and Tucker suspiciously before following Dash. The school bell rang and the crowded hallway quickly emptied out until only the two friends where left standing by the locker. Sam spoke into the locker's vents, "The coast is clear, you can come out." Danny phased through the door and became visible again. "You really need to be more careful dude." Tucker chided. "Its fine, it's not like anybody actually saw me disappear," "It still looked suspicious." Sam said, breaking into the conversation." "Sam-"Danny stopped. She was giving him one of those looks. One of those I'm-not-trying-to-make-you-mad,-I-just-care looks. He sighed. "Look, I'll be more careful okay?" The Gothic girl smiled. "Good, now let's get to class, we're late enough as it is."


	3. First Encounters

CHAPTER 2

First Encounters

Danny absently kicked an empty soda can across the deserted sidewalk. He walked in a classic boy-like manner, hands in his pockets with a lazy slouch. (It's not like Sam was around or anything)

Mr. Lancer finally did catch him in class later that day, resulting in a detention session for him too. The crabby teacher also took the joy of announcing his punishment in front of all his peers. The rest of Danny's day consisted of dirty looks and hurtful jeers, most were encouraged by Dash.

"Why do I even bother going home?" The teenager asked himself for the third time that afternoon. All he would get is another lecture from his parents about how important it is to get along with others at school. Then they would probably punish their son and take his computer away or something, being it was the fifth time he had gotten in trouble that week. Danny caught up with the can and gave it another frustrated blow, sending it skittering into the street gutters.

Of course, he was coming home for the same reason he risked his life every day protecting his friends and family from ghosts. He cares about them. "Is this how the rest of my life will be?" He asked aloud to the unknown. "Being treated like dirt because others don't know what I'm doing to save their pathetic existence? Everybody cares about Danny Phantom. If Mr. Phantom gets burned by Prince Eragon's flames everybody cares! But if it's Danny Fenton who's getting crushed unarmed under a football player's full-bodied tackle in the middle of the Casper High hallway, does anybody stop to help besides Tucker or Sam? Of course not! " Danny swung around and pounded the brick wall of a nearby building with his fist. He stopped and leaned against it with a sad sigh. "What's wrong with the world?" he thought, silently this time.

His cold breath distracted Danny from his lonely thoughts. The young halfa glanced around, instantly alert. A sickening cracking could be heard in the distance. With a quick glance around, he changed into Danny Phantom and followed the sound.

It led him to the dark alleyway Skulker had once hunted him in. Shadowed behind a rusting dumpster was a gray mass of fur. Danny began to feel uneasy. Despite his discomfort curiosity got the best of him and he took a few cautious steps forward. The creature's ears pricked up and swiveled backwards. Then it turned abruptly to face him. To Danny's surprise a large silvery she-wolf was glaring at him. Two glowing eyes like moons critically scanned his ghostly form as if she were looking for something. Her powerful jaws held the mangled and bleeding body of a rat. Its lifeless corpse was punctured with several gaping holes and tears. Danny's eyes widened at the sight of the wolf's teeth. They were the size and shape of nails, piercing clean through the rodent's carcass.

Lunai looked the ghost boy over and spat out her dinner in disgust. The young halfa glanced warily at the dead rat before switching his gaze back to her. THIS is Danny Phantom? The ghost hunter Vlad had warned her about. In the way the older halfa had described him, she had expected something a bit more frightening, or at least bigger. What did he take her for? Did Vlad actually think that this….. Danny Phantom, could stop Lunai, the werewolf of werewolves? This was outrageous! Insulting! She's nearly as big as the boy, and Vlad thinks he even has a chance against her.

Now the pathetic excuse for a hunter was actually pulling out his 'Fenton Thermos'. He had warned her about this at least. The child's hands were shaking, Lunai could smell the fear emitting from his body. As he fumbled to unscrew the cap she lifted a massive paw and smacked it lazily from his hand, this wasn't worth her time.

The young halfa jumped back a bit. The tip of Lunai's thick tail wagged slightly, what did Skulker call him? Whelp. Yes, the whelp was quite amusing to scare. She felt the hunter could be a good friend if he wasn't holding the rest of her pack hostage for Vlad. The she-wolf casually leaned down to pick up the thermos. With a deadly yet playful look in her eyes Lunai crushed it like tissue between blood-encrusted jaws. It was enough to send little 'Danny Phantom' sprinting down the block.


	4. A plan is made

Chapter 3

A plan is made

Danny stumbled up the stairs to Fenton works. His fuming parent's greeted him at the door, just having received a call from Mr. Lancer. Their son literally collided into them in his fearful rush. "Danny what are you -" His mom stopped in mid-sentence. "Honey, you look a bit peakish, is everything okay?" She asked, lifting his chin for a better view. "I'm fine." He snapped stubbornly, pushing her hand away. "If you need me I'll be in my room. "Son you look like you've seen a ghost," said Jack with a hint of humor. Danny rolled his eyes at the bad pun and escaped to the stairs, his parent's concerned stares followed every step.

He halted by Jazz's door and gave it a quick check, nothing, she wasn't home. The young halfa slowed his pace and thought back to the recent events. "There's some type of ghost wolf on the loose," he thought to himself, "It almost looked as if she knew him. How did she know the Fenton Thermos was dangerous? I mean, wolves don't just go around deliberately knocking soup containers out of people's hands." He stepped into his room and locked the door behind him, as the teenager had predicted, his computer was gone.

"The ghost wolf obviously isn't a coincidence, it was there for something." Danny began to pace. The situation was similar to when the ghost puppy had escaped from the ghost portal a year back, looking for it's toy, but wild animals were way beyond him. The teenager stopped at the sight of himself in the mirror. His mom was right, he did look unwell, the color had drained from his face after the fright the wolf gave him. At least it was starting to return to it's normal pinkish shade. Why did the she scare him so much? It was those eyes that seemed to stab him like a knife, every time she looked at him her gaze seemed to lock Danny into space and send fear pulsing through his veins. The animal greatly disturbed him, he usually had more courage than that, but something about this wolf was unnatural, maybe it was the eyes, or the alarming size and shape of its teeth. He lay back on his bed and gazed out the window. For the first time in his life, Danny wished Jazz was there so he could talk to her. She always understands, even on those rare occasions when he didn't understand himself.

A stone bounced off the window screen. Danny hastily sat up and opened the window. Tucker was giving him an offended stare from the alleyway below. "We have a door ya'know." Danny told him with a hint of annoyance. "You promised me you would meet me at the arcade fifteen minutes ago! What happened?" Danny gave a tired sigh as he remembered the meeting they had arranged at lunch earlier that afternoon. "A lot of things happened, look, come around out front and I'll meet you there.

Danny finished explaining to Tucker everything about the mysterious wolf a while later back in his bedroom. "Wow, Sam's gonna want to hear this." Tucker said fishing a sleek looking cell phone out of his pocket. Danny was watching Jazz pull into the driveway. "What was that? Oh, right, tell her to meet us here as soon as possible, Jazz just got back, I want to have a little meeting. "Meeting?" Tucker echoed, confused. "Since when have we held meetings?" "Since wild ghost wolves started appearing in alleyways Danny replied, heading for the door, only to open it and find Jazz already standing there. "Hey, Danny can I borrow your-" "Good, you're here, come in." he interrupted straightaway and pulled her into the room by a shoulder. "Danny, don't be so rude!" She complained, pushing him away. "Ow! Jazz! "He whined pushing her back. " Oh, grow up both of you!" Tucker said pushing between them "I just talked to Sam, she should be here soon" "It's not my fault you're so immature!" the two siblings told each other at the same time. Tucker gave up and began fiddling with his cell phone in Danny's chair. "How am I the immature one?" They both protested together again.

When Sam came, she was greeted by two bickering teenagers and Tucker playing downloaded games on his phone. She shut the door behind her, everyone looked up in surprise. Nobody had noticed her walk in. "Finally, now let's get down to business," Danny said in his bold voice. "Who made you boss?" Jazz muttered. He shot her a glare before continuing. "Something really weird happened today, Tucker already knows about it…."

The rest of the afternoon was spent explaining and planning. Everyone agreed this wolf was a problem and needed to be removed somehow, and after some talking even Jazz and Danny began to cooperate with each other. Sam suggested they use the 'Boo-merang' to track the wolf, it instantly became a popular idea. The kids planned and arranged until a simple plan was agreed, they would meet after school the next day, Jazz would bring four Fenton Thermoses for everyone and Danny used his power's to sneak into his parent's lab and swipe the Boo-merang. The task took much longer than he had expected, a lot of time was spent rummaging through disorganized piles of lab equipment and tools until Sam, Tucker, and Jazz finally came down to see what was taking so long, defeating the entire purpose of being secretive. Luckily Jack and Maddie never noticed the parade of teenagers in their lab. Danny was to bring the Boo-merang with him to school tomorrow. That way it could be used to track the wolf, and hopefully the fully armed kids could take her down together.

Hours later Danny and Jazz saw Sam and Tucker to the door, said their farewells, and departed. After the door shut Danny instantly headed for his room, Jazz caught up with him in the hallway. "You didn't seem yourself today, is everything okay?" "I'm fine" he growled defensively, pushing past her. Jazz glared at him as he stormed off. Typical.


	5. An unexpected visitor

Chapter 4

Vlad Plasmius hung in midair in front of the 'Welcome Amity Park' billboard. A quote was written at the bottom, "A nice place to live." He smirked, not for the Fenton family. The dark of the night made his blood-red eyes glow bright. After long hours of fretting in his castle home, Vlad had decided to follow Lunai. The older halfa found it hard to trust the stubborn werewolf, and he couldn't afford her trying to pull something behind his back. "Ah, Jack, I will soon have my revenge" He crooned softly before returning to his pursuit.

Danny's pulse was overwhelming, every beat made him jerk uncomfortably. Two blazing spheres of light stood before him, taunting the child before them cruelly with their brilliant glow. He tried to close his eyes, it only made things worse. They were moving closer, he could feel their heat burning his skin. The young halfa opened his eyes. Now they were inches from his face. The light's power blinded him. He tried to run, he didn't go anywhere. Suddenly his world was illuminated in fiery white light.

Danny sat up gasping for air in his bed. A dream, it was just a dream. He put his hand to his forehead; it was covered in cold sweat. His heart was fluttering in its chest; and adrenalin was making him tense. Danny lay back in his bed and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

The boy stared at the ceiling; sleep was going to be difficult to overcome. Finally Danny realized cold breath billowing in front of his face. He hurriedly jumped out of bed and changed to Danny Phantom. Vanishing from sight, he dared to peek around the corner of his bedroom door.

The she-wolf was there, sniffing intently under the door to his parent's room. Her back was turned to Danny.

Lunai growled softly in frustration. Her prey was just in the room next to her, the scent was so strong. Why did humans put handles on their doors? It makes things so hard to get around! She felt herself tense; a new smell was lingering in the air. It carried the familiar aroma of the phantom child. The wolf stopped what she was doing and looked up. Lunai forgot, Vlad had told her the whelp lived here too.

Before she could react, an unseen force barreled into her. The power of the attack sent both of them phasing through the walls of the house until they crashed into the opposite wall of the alleyway outside and landed in a baffled heap.

Lunai snarled and kicked whatever was on top of her off. Sitting across from the werewolf was none other than Danny Phantom. Without warning, a cloud slid away from the moon, and Lunai was fully exposed to its light.

Danny quickly recovered from the fall and flew up high, preparing for the next attack. What was the wolf doing? Below the animal was swaying dangerously on its paws. He could hear a low groan coming from deep in her throat. Suddenly the young halfa gasped. She was looking directly at him. The pupils had faded from her eyes, leaving a blaze of white like two moons. They where the two burning spheres from his dream.

Danny couldn't help it; he stared transfixed at the wolf's eyes. His mind went numb, and he didn't realize until it was too late that he was rapidly sinking toward the ground. She pounced, using monster-like paws to drag him down. Danny landed flat on his face with Lunai on his back. He felt her nail teeth slicing smoothly through his shoulder. It took several seconds to throw her off. By then he was covered with deep gashes.

Huge paws pinned him to the wall, this time he was ready, he aimed a punch at the animals nose, Lunai didn't back down. Danny fell into total panic. This wolf fought like a berserker. A painful blow and she didn't even seem to feel it. He had to face the truth, she was literally mauling him and he had to get away. A warm fluid was flowing freely down his back, and he didn't need to check to know what it was.

Now Lunai was starting to get a grip of his wrist. Danny shot a jet of bright green energy into her eyes; it distracted her enough for him to struggle free. As he made an attempt to run but she caught him again, this time by the back of his suit. The halfa kicked and struggled in a pitiful attempt to get away. It was hopeless. The wolf swung around and threw him at the wall of the alley. A short cry of pain was heard before Danny slid limply to the cold, hard, ground.

Lunai stepped forward, teeth bared. Another cloud shadowed the moon, and her eyes retuned to normal. She stared in awe at what she had done. The whelp was leaning unmoving against the wall in front of her.

Vlad would not like this. She would have to give saving her pack a shot from a different angle. Without another thought, she fled.

Vlad Plasmius could see Fenton Works coming into view. He flew faster, everything seemed peaceful. The filthy traitor was tricking him. He gritted his teeth, Lunai would pay. The older halfa scanned the building. She really wasn't there.

He was about to leave when something caught his eye. Vlad glided in closer. It was Daniel, sitting unconscious and beaten in the alleyway by his house. He landed smoothly on the ground in front of him. It looked like Lunai had attacked him, not Jack. The boy had painful looking wounds covering his body. A large bruise was forming on the teenager's cheek. Still, he had a strong pulse. Vlad lifted the victim's chin with two fingers. Danny groaned unknowingly as a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. On the other hand, it wasn't right just to leave him out there. It was, after all, Jack he was after. Daniel still had many uses for Vlad.

With great care, the older halfa lifted Danny into his arms, and flew him to the window of his room. After making sure the boy was comfortable, he left to hunt for Lunai.


	6. Chapter 5

It was when Jazz passed the door to Danny's room that realization finally pricked at her. She hadn't seen him all morning, and school was going to start soon. He did seem troubled yesterday… A concerned frown crossed her face. Maybe she should check on him, just in case.

Jazz turned the handle to Danny's room slowly to avoid making too much noise. Immediately the expression on her face turned to one of horror. There was her brother, sprawled out on the bed. The sheets where drenched in stale blood, and his body looked like it had been carved on with a knife. Some of the most noticeable of wounds was a perfect row of deep gashes leading down to his back where she couldn't see.

Jazz felt something inside her spiral downward. She placed shaking thumb on his bloodstained wrist where a hardy pulse answered. His sister looked him over once again. This time she noticed two thick red trails leading from both corners of Danny's mouth down his colorless cheeks, one had a deep purple bruise on it. This was too much. With a quick "Hang on Danny." she ran downstairs to get their parents.

Danny's world had no color. Soft, fluid-like black stretched to every unreachable corner. Thought was overrated here. Distant voices could be heard, a mix of sounds that he couldn't register. One voice stood out above the rest, his sister's. She was talking to him, using a gentle voice that was like a song to Danny, bringing peace and reassurance to his lonely prison.

It became harder to hear over the noisy and painful throbbing that was rising over his senses. Suddenly a comforting hand placed itself on his uninjured shoulder and he drifted out of consciousness again.

The next time Danny awoke, there were new sounds. After a great effort he opened his eyes. There were the blurred figures of his family, along with a tall female medic carrying a professional-looking case of medical supplies. She was telling them something, but still, it was unrecognizable. The medic noticed Danny was awake and rushed to his bedside followed by everyone else. She began to talk to him. The inquiring look on her face told him she was asking a question, but to Danny her voice was just another distant sound, and the noise made his head hurt even more. The halfa's eyes begin to well up with painful tears. "What's wrong with me?" he asked himself silently.

The medic was now pulling a needle from her briefcase and filling it with a clear liquid. Danny closed his eyes tightly, he knew what was coming. He didn't care. All the teenager wanted was the agonizing pain to go away, and he knew she could help. Surprisingly, the shot was a lot less painful than anticipated, probably because his injuries hurt a lot more. Soon sleep began to embrace him again and he started to slip out of consciousness at an alarming rate. Danny heard Jazz's promising voice, and his miserable world went dark.

Sam was frantically describing the ambulance truck standing outside Fenton Works to Tucker, who was listening on the other line of his cell phone. She stopped abruptly as her worst fears were answered. There was Danny, pale and unmoving in bloodstained sheets, being loaded into the back of the vehicle. Tucker's wild reply was heard on the other end but Sam didn't seem to hear, pocketing the phone, she raced over to the rest of the Fenton family who were standing nearby. "Hey, you." one of the medics where pointing her out. "We don't need a crowd, get lost!" "She's a friend." Jazz said, standing protectively in front of Sam. He backed off as she shot him a glare. "Sorry about that." She apologized, turning to Sam. "Jazz, what-" "please, I don't know any more than you do, he just woke up this morning with all this…." Sam nodded in understanding. It must be just as hard for Jazz as it was for her and emotions where starting to get the better of both of them.

They were allowed to sit in the back with Danny as long as they didn't touch anything. Jazz and Sam stayed close, avoiding speech and eye contact if possible. The ride to the hospital was long and depressing; Danny's shallow breathing filled the car, a painful reminder of his condition.

Later at the hospital, Danny began to stir. The teenager opened his eyes in full awareness for the first time in hours. He looked around; the halfa had been placed on a cheap medical bed. The walls were white and close together, giving him the empty feeling of isolation. He tried to sit up and instantly wished he hadn't. Sharp pain shot through his shoulder, Danny fell back, letting out a light groan; the room began to spin. He was in worse shape than he thought.

A tall female nurse came into the room. "Oh good, your awake, the doctor will be here shortly." "What happened?" he asked groggily. She gave him a sympathetic smile, "We were hoping you could tell us that."Danny saw the specks blood puddling on his fairly new sheets for the first time and gave the nurse a bewildered look. What DID happen to him?

"Okay, I'll explain as much as I can, you came here this morning." she said, pointing to the clock Danny just noticed on the wall. It read 1:23. "After your sister found you all beat up in your bed, you've been sleeping like a doll ever since. Oh, and you bit your tongue pretty hard too."Danny felt his chin where the trail of blood had dried. "Your friends and family are in the waiting room." She added. The boy's eyes lit up at this. "Can I see them?" "After your check up" She told him, with a smug grin. Danny scowled and wished she would stop treating him like a child.

The doctor came in soon after. "Daniel, this is Dr. Orona, he'll be looking you over," Dr. Orona was followed by another nurse, this time a boy. He looked to be about eighteen. Danny noticed a resemblance between the two; the only difference was that Dr. Orona had dark hair, and his apprentice's was brown. It didn't surprise him when he saw William Orona flash on the nurse's nametag.

Danny's 'check up' consisted of various tests. Near the beginning he was asked to stand and remove his shirt. Standing was an obstacle that took a while to achieve. When that was finally done, the halfa peeled of his battered and bloodstained shirt. He winced as the doctor put a cold stethoscope to his bare chest. The nurse was scribbling something down on his clipboard. Danny didn't like this, he felt uncomfortable, exposed, his shoulder was starting to burn intensely, and a he was getting a headache.

Finally he was told he could sit down. For the first time ever, Danny looked at his wounds. The gaping tear in his shoulder scared him; it looked like part of it had been entirely ripped out so badly that the injury seemed unreal. He felt the color drain from his face. Dr. Orona noticed and ordered him to lie back down. His patient gratefully obeyed.

As the first nurse had promised, Danny was allowed visitors afterward. His parents came first, after many hugs, kisses, and 'I love you's they left. Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and last of all, Vlad came in next. All except his enemy came over with kind and questioning words. It was a happy reunion, even though his sister was crying.

Everyone drew away as Vlad glided over to the bedside. He had been waiting in the corner of the room for several minutes. "So what exactly did happen to you Daniel?" "What do you care?" he spat back. His arch enemy didn't look impressed. "You really think you're strong enough to take me on?" What do you want?" Danny demanded. "I've never told you of my plans before, why should I start now?"

They were interrupted by the female nurse reentering the room "Ten minutes is up, it's time for Daniel to rest." Vlad stood up straight and tousled Danny's hair in a fatherly way. The boy shot him an icy glare.

He felt a muscle in his ear twitch, Sam was whispering to Jazz across the room, "If looks could kill." This made him smile, though nobody else seemed to hear the girls' hushed conversation.

Danny's visitors filed out of the room. After they were gone the nurse held up a hospital gown. His eyes widened, "Please tell me I don't have to wear that." He begged.


	7. Outsmarted again

Chapter 6

Danny lay contently back in his hospital bed and watched his parents leave the room. His stay was turning out a lot more bearable than he had expected. The young halfa was almost never alone, being periodically visited by friends and family, even a TV with cable got moved into his room.

The boy began to heal rapidly after he recovered from the blood loss, his shoulder was another story though, thick layers of gauze were strapped around it, but even that didn't stop it from constantly bleeding. Despite the seriousness of the wound, he would get to return home in another week.

A nurse strided into the room carrying a tray with two pills and a glass of water. Danny stared at her awkwardly as she hastily put the tray on the bedside table saying in a low voice, "the doctor wants you to take these," before rushing back out the door. "What's with her," he thought, swallowing the medicine.

That night was the first one Danny spent at the hospital not being able to sleep. His body was frequently racked with involuntary spasms, and he was sweating uncontrollably. The young halfa pulled the sheets in closer and flinched back. For some reason he seemed extremely sensitive to touch. The sheet was like blanket of metal weighing down on him. For a moment he considered pushing the emergency call button, then decided against it. The situation couldn't be that serious.

Danny sat up and brushed his dark hair back, it felt like sandpaper on his face. The halfa gasped in surprise and looked at his hand, the skin on the bottom half had turned black and rough, like the pad on an animal's paw. Danny began to look himself over frantically; thick chestnut fur covered the teenager's entire body, including his face. He felt the pointed tips of his ears and flinched again, why was everything he felt so exaggerated?

The moonlight shone through the half shuttered window, cutting the images of his wolfish body into thin strips. Suddenly the light disappeared. Danny rashly turned to the window, someone had shut the blinds. Alarm flared in him as he fearfully scanned the room, looking for the intruder. The halfa began to shudder as his ghost sense sent cold breath running across his now sensitive nose. He realized it hadn't changed shape at all, but the skin was like that on his hands and feet, just more wet.

The foggy silhouette of a ghost appeared by the bedside. Glowing red eyes stared at the child before them. "Hello Daniel," Before Danny knew what was happening, intangible hands strapped a belt-like object around his waist and locked it together. He looked down, it was the Specter Deflector. The ghost pinned him roughly into the pillows by the throat.

His young victim was completely at his mercy. "What do you want?" The intruder drew his face closer to him threateningly, Danny recognized him instantly.

'What's wrong little badger, not feeling well?" Vlad said, running a teasing finger across the wolf boy's furry cheek. He winced under the power of the slight touch. "What do you want?" Danny repeated. "Oh, please Daniel, stop trying to act brave. Injured, sick, and unable to turn into a ghost," he waved the key to the Specter Deflector in his face, "you'd probably just hurt yourself even more if you try anything wise."

The younger halfa wasn't listening, he could feel his energy draining away quickly under the pressure the older ghost was putting on him. Vlad raised his eyebrows as Danny's breathing became increasingly labored under his powerful grip. Releasing him, he said, "It's amazing how much effect a few pills can have on someone, huh?"

Danny sat up and massaged his throat for several moments, suddenly his eyes widened as he understood what the older halfa was telling him. "You…. You drugged me!" he exclaimed hoarsely. "Your tiny teenage mind JUST figured that out?" Ignoring this, he continued, "You overshadowed the nurse! What did you do? What's wrong with me?"

Vlad clamped a hand over the babbling teenager's mouth. "Shut up Daniel! Do you want the entire hospital to hear us?" Danny gave him stubborn glare and nodded as much as he could manage. Rolling his eyes, he told the child. "Think about it, you're a werewolf, get it? Do you want that to be revealed to the public?

"Gee, I didn't realize I'm a werewolf." Danny thought sarcastically, but he knew his enemy was right. He should lie low about the situation. The boy pushed Vlad's hand away. Surprisingly, he didn't resist. "Why are you here?" he hissed. "Really Daniel, you can be very dim witted sometimes."

Without warning, Danny swayed dizzily, putting a hand to his forehead he moaned, "Oh man, what did you put in those pills?" Vlad shoved him back in the bed saying, "I'll make this simple, you are going to tell me why that wolf attacked you and where it is now, and don't try lying to me, I can tell when you are." "Let's see, in the past, you've cloned me against my will, put me in my friends in danger, you spend all of your time plotting," Danny counted on his fingers, "and you ACTUALLY think I'm going to just give you information without wondering what you're up to?"

Vlad said nothing; he just covered the boy's mouth and simply pinched him. Pain shot up the younger halfa's arm, only the gloved hand holding his jaw together kept him from screaming in agony. Finally, escaping from his grasp, Danny gasped, "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO!"

"I should've explained Daniel; those pills I gave you amplify the sensitivity of your nerves tenfold, whether it's the slightest touch, or pain," he paused and imitated a tweaking motion with his fingers, "you're going to feel it a lot more than you really should. I'm sure you've noticed you're at a great disadvantage, so I suggest you cooperate.

Danny frowned and looked to the opposite wall of the room. "Daniel." Vlad said, pulling a small glass bottle out of his pocket. The younger halfa ignored him. "Daniel." He repeated, this time in a sharper tone. Finally he turned to face Vlad, who showed him the vile in his hand. "I have the antidote; all you need to do is give me answers." Danny gaze lingered temptingly on the frothy orange fluid in the bottle before flickering away; he wouldn't back down that easily. The older halfa grew impatient and pinched him again. He watched Daniel grit his noticeably sharper teeth and focus on the ceiling. He had to admit, the boy had courage. They stayed in that position for several moments, Vlad began to wonder if the drug was wearing off. Then he saw the stream of tears flowing down Danny's wolf cheeks.

"Well?" he pressed, the teenager looked at him. The pleading look in the boy's watery blue eyes told him everything. Daniel would need no more persuading.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"So… let me get this straight, you're saying that you've been turning into a werewolf at night?" Tucker asked doubtfully. "Uh huh." Danny nodded, before breaking into a hacking fit. It was the morning after Vlad's attack. Sam and Tucker were paying their morning visit to Danny.

"Dude, are you sure you're okay? You didn't look this bad yesterday." "Yes, I'm fine." "Do you think it was those pills Vlad gave you? Sam asked with concern." "No he was playing with my nerves then, I didn't have a fever until after he left." Danny sniffed miserably. "Or until after he gave you the antidote."

Danny looked thoughtful, "I never thought of that." "Well, was there anything weird about it?" She pressed. He smiled bitterly, "Like I could tell, he said it tasted horrible and I should get it over with quickly." "So?" "So, he forcefully shoved it down my throat. Such nice person." Sam looked a bit taken aback at this; Danny didn't miss the look on her face. "What? Don't tell me you thought he would be gentler, this is Vlad we're talking about, remember? The evil, plotting, fruitloop whose only friends are his cats?" "I know; it's just that it still surprises how far he's willing to go just to get what he wants." "Um, okay."

"Anyways, I brought the books you wanted." Sam said, changing the subject while piling them on the bed." Danny thanked her and began rummaging through the stack, muttering, "I can't believe I'm desperate enough to read a book." "They're really not that bad," Tucker told him. "Says you." Danny scoffed, pulling out an ancient looking handbook. "If we could find information on the Fright Night in here, then why wouldn't there be-" Danny paused and coughed harshly again, "something about that wolf?" He finished weakly, flipping through the pages.

"Why don't you lie down, we can look it up." Sam said, putting a hand on his shoulder, careful to avoid the one with a cast on it. "Honestly, I'm fine." Danny stood up and walked across the room as if to prove it, only to collapse in a chair by the door. "Yeah, you look really healthy," she said sarcastically. He shot her a look that meant to be angry, but ended up being one of pure exhaustion "Come on; get back in bed before you have a heart attack," Tucker said firmly, holding out a hand. Danny reluctantly let his friend help him back across the room.

"Look, school is starting soon, we have to go." Sam told him taking the books in her arms. "What are you doing?" "Tucker and I will look for information on the wolf today and YOU will focus on resting." Danny crossed his arms and frowned moodily in embarrassment as Sam tucked him in. Tucker couldn't suppress a giggle. Ignoring that, she told him, "We'll be back after school." "Hmm!" "Good, we'll see you then."

After the door closed, Danny closed his eyes and focused, using his noticeably wolf enhanced senses. He could hear his friends walking down the hall. It wasn't until they reached the waiting room when Tucker finally burst out with laughter.

Later that afternoon, Sam and Tucker returned to find Danny in a softly snoring in a deep sleep. Messy raven black hair betrayed the fact that he hadn't combed it in days. Tucker looked in disgust at the puddle of drool forming on the pillow. Sam seemed to find it cute. They left shortly after to leave their friend in peace.

Danny woke up about three hours later. Wiping slobber from his face, he sat up and looked at the clock. 6:47. Feeling a lot better than he had that morning, he yawned and fell freely back onto his pillow. Footsteps came from the hallway outside. Danny looked up in time to see Sam and Tucker enter the room for the third time that day.

"Have a nice rest sleeping beauty?" Sam asked, closing the door behind them. "Uh huh." He replied pleasantly. "Well you look better," Tucker added, indicating to his friend's cheeks, which had taken on a softer shade of pink since that morning. "You're still burning though." Sam said, putting a hand on his forehead. "Um, I guess." He said quickly, scooting away from her. The color of his cheeks deepened.

"So… did you find anything?" "Find anything?" "About the wolf?" "Oh right!" She replied, pulling out the handbook. "You were right, she is in here." Showing him a page with a detailed sketch of a white wolf. "What does it say?" Apparently her name's Lunai, she's like a legend in the ghost zone, leading a pack of fellow werewolves. "Uh, so she has a human form?" "Well, no." Tucker joined in the conversation, "It makes sense when you think about it. Cause where do you think the original werewolf came from?" Danny gave him a blank look. "Ghost wolves! They're pure werewolf, without a human side, not like what you are. You're only part wolf now."

He nodded, slowly understanding this. "There's something I don't get, this Lunai just went psycho when we landed outside." "Maybe because she was mad that you tackled her?" Tucker said, like it was obvious. "No, it's different, there was something going on with her eyes." "Well duh, if someone was trying to kill me there would be a wild look in their eyes too," "It's not that!" he replied impatiently, hugging his knees in a distressed sort of way. "Alright." Tucker sighed, letting the subject drop.

Danny took the silence as an opportunity to try walking again. His friends looked slightly alarmed as he stood up, but soon their alarm turned to relief. Danny was making his way across the room with little trouble at all. He sat down on the same chair by the door, looking very pleased with himself. His friends were staring at him now. "What?" Sam pointed at him. Danny looked down; he was covered in the chestnut fur again." "Ugh, just what I need, another problem." "How are you going to hide that when the nurse checks on you?" "Um, well…. We could always- OH MY GOSH WHAT IS THAT!" he jumped up, a dog-like tail swept around his ankles. Tucker and Sam broke into hysterical laughter.

Danny flattened his wolf ears in an offended way, "Come on guys, this is serious!" "Sorry," Tucker said, still snickering, "but you have to admit that was funny." "Ha ha." Danny said without any emotion, flipping the light switch off. "What are you doing?" "The light was bothering me." His friends exchanged worried glances while his back was turned. "So…. Can we at least let a little light in?" Tucker asked, opening the window. Moonlight lit the room. Danny narrowed his eyes, the silvery light made his mind feel hazy. "We've been here longer than I thought." "No, it's just because winter's coming, the days are getting shorter." Sam told him.

Neither of them noticed their friend staggering unevenly in the back of the room. Both jumped when a various medical tools clattered the ground. Danny was crouching in a corner "Danny?" Sam asked cautiously. He pressed his head against the wall and began to shake violently. Suddenly he snarled a real, wolf-like snarl. Sam stepped back fearfully. Danny turned to face her. Just like Lunai, the pupils had faded from his eyes, this time leaving two spheres like glowing sapphires.

He looked slightly confused. Tucker and Sam gave each other uncertain glances. Without warning, Danny's stare turned to a demon-like scowl, snarling again, he advanced toward Sam. With wolf/human hands, he pinned his friend against the wall, digging his claws in her arms.

Behind them, an idea occurred to Tucker and he closed the blinds to the window. Danny abruptly released Sam as his eyes returned to normal. They gave each other a bewildered look. Then he noticed the blood welling up in the claw marks on her arms. His claw marks.

His friends watched Danny, unsure of what to do. He backed away looking drastically upset at what happened. Then the werewolf did the first thing that came to mind. Ripping the blinds off the window, he dived outside and fled into the night before Sam and Tucker could stop him.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Danny finally stopped running to lean heavily on a nearby streetlight, his breath coming in short, steady gasps. His limbs were shaking and cold breath was billowing in front of his face. For once it wasn't his ghost sense. "Sam was right, winter is coming." He thought.

His sensitive hearing picked up nearby footsteps. He looked up; groups of nearby pedestrians were staring at him. He stared back in surprise, watching them like a deer does before its hit by a car. One pulled out a cell phone

Jumping into the nearby bushes, he changed into Phantom and flew invisibly from the scene. He needed a place to hide and figure things out. People tend to get scared and destroy things that they don't understand. Is that what will happen to him? They still don't know that he's Danny Fenton, nor would he let them know. Danny flipped over and glared accusingly up to the sky; "This is the moon's fault." He thought accusingly, "I didn't lose it until Tucker opened that window. Clouds are covering it now, but what's going happen when they drift off again? My sanity is limited." He realized grimly.

Suddenly fatigue hit him. Days of lying in bed at the hospital weren't helping with his endurance; Danny felt himself gradually sinking lower and lower to the ground. "I have to land soon." He descended as slowly as possible toward the outer border of Amity Park, trying to stay airborne as long as possible. Finally, he tumbled altogether on the pavement behind a short, grimy building.

Danny sat up and looked himself over warily, as a ghost werewolf; his fur had turned black, leaving a cluster of white hair on his head. Besides that he still looked like his human wolf half. Changing back, he huddled against some rotting crates.

The smell of alcoholic beverages stung his nostrils; silhouettes of people could be seen through the draped windows. Along with loud, exited voices. "I'm outside a tavern?" he thought, closing his eyes and covering his sensitive ears against the noise. "Why does my head hurt? Gah, my face is burning; I think the fevers coming back,"

Then he noticed something, a hole. A gaping tear in the wall leading under the tavern. "That could work for the night." He thought, squeezing through it, grimacing as a shard of glass cut into the pad of his hand. Ignoring it, he found a clearing near the middle of the space and curled up. Without thinking, he began to lick the palm of his hand where it had been torn by the glass.

"What am I going to do with myself? By tomorrow the world be on the lookout for a wolf boy, thanks to some big mouthed pedestrians, I'm a danger to my family and friends, I have nowhere to go, and for Pete's sake I'm a werewolf in a hospital gown!." Danny stopped licking his palm and sniffed; he suddenly felt the urge to cry, let out all the grief and shock of what happened. He wasn't the hero of Amity Park anymore; he was a monster, feared and misunderstood by the people he had once sought to protect.

Danny couldn't help it. His breathing quickened and tears fell to the dirt floor of his shelter. The sound of shattering glass sounded from above, followed by loud swearing. Sticky clear fluid seeped through the floorboards and dripped on his head. Danny didn't care; flicking his ears, he curled up tighter and hugged his tail. It was going to be a long night, but eventually he just cried himself silently into an exhausted sleep.

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A long ways off in the ghost zone, Lunai leapt onto the floating mass of land well known and feared by all ghosts, Skulker's Lair. She took a deep breath, the smell of death lingered from every hollow canyon to every blade of grass here. But she scented something else too. Wolves. Her pack.

Creeping into the shelter of the nearby reeds, a plan began to form in her mind. The hunter was bound to be around here somewhere. Lunai needed him out of the way but at the same time she needed to be careful, it would be just like Skulker to want another rare animal pelt to add to his collection.

Just as that thought occurred to her, the sound of a cocking gun sounded from behind. "I knew you would come crawling back here for your pack." "You won't win that easily Skulker." She growled back, not bothering to face him. Then, turning intangible she phased into the ground. The hunter turned around in time to see the wolf speeding toward the forest.

Cursing silently, he took to the air and followed. Lunai tore through the undergrowth, dodging trees and leaping over bushes. She could hear Skulker above her, time was running out fast. Lunai scanned the earth beneath her pounding paws, she knew what she needed, finding one was the obstacle though. A red blast of energy skimmed her whiskers. Time was really running out now.

Finally, a metal item stuck out slightly from the bracken. Lunai skidded to an abrupt halt and hid next to it, careful not to bump the thing. Skulker landed where she just was, searching for the wolf. She crouched down and picked up the object. A concealed dart whistled out of the nearby tree branches, hitting the hunter square in the chest. "Darn it!" The tranquilizer was working quickly, his movements finally slowed to a stop and he fell over.

Lunai stepped out of her hiding spot, a smug grin on her face. "Still getting caught in your own traps Skulker?" She taunted, pulling a ring of keys from his belt. "I'll be back for you later." She told him in a dangerous tone before trotting off.

Freeing her pack took a great deal of time. The keys kept slipping out of the locks and falling to the ground, mixing with the other keys so Lunai would have to look for the right one again. Hours later, the wolves were free. "Stupid opposable thumbs," she muttered, while her family brushed affectionately against her pelt. Lunai sprung onto a boulder. There was no need to summon her pack; they were already paying close attention. "Our friend Skulker is in the forest out there." She pointed with her muzzle. "I want you to remove the coward within that armor and bring him back home, don't kill him yet, we could have some fun with the whelp first." She said, stealing his catch phrase with an evil smile.

The pack howled a battle cry and charged off in the direction of the trees. Lunai readied herself to follow them, but before she could move, an unpleasantly familiar voice sounded from behind. "Stealing my employees now, are you?" The wolf felt the fur rise along her spine. Vlad.

She swung around. There he was; floating there with his arms crossed a leather object in one hand. Lunai snarled and leapt, the halfa held out what he was holding, it was a muzzle. She went straight into it. The wolf landed in surprise, a chain lash was attached to it, Vlad was holding on to the other end. He jerked the leash closer, taking Lunai with it.

"Daniel's a werewolf thanks to you." She flattened her ears and glowered at him. "An unwanted wolf will not be my problem," he recited what she had once said, pulling her even closer than before. "I'll make it your problem," he growled softly. Lunai's expression changed to an extremely calm one, Vlad didn't seem to notice. "Now the boy's running around alone in winter with a fever, he'll be dead within a few days! I told you to kill Jack, not Daniel! You'd better find him!"

Suddenly the wolf lifted her paws over her head and slipped the muzzle off, then she turned on him and pinned him down, pressing her powers into him to keep the halfa from turning intangible.

"You're a fool Vlad, cheap human restraints won't hold me back, I'm smarter than that," "So what are you going to do, bite me?" he replied bravely. Lunai bared her teeth "Listen here Plasmius, you're a pathetic man. You wanted to kill Jack because he was the reason you were put in the hospital all those years, and then he married the woman you love. You have nothing to live for, so you spend all of your time plotting revenge, but when Daniel came along there was hope, the half-ghost son who might love and understand you. When he turned you down for Jack you were crushed. But you still believed that one day; he might come back and accept you." Vlad struggled to get away, Lunai pressed harder.

"Because you have no life, you're making others suffer for it, destroying families to get what you want, that's sick. I almost lost my pack thanks to you! I said not to send me on a full moon, but did you listen? This is your fault, you can't trust anyone but yourself! No, I'm not going to bite you, as a werewolf you'll just ruin more lives. Nor will I kill you, the last thing I need is you running around this place all the time as a full ghost. Sure you've hurt Daniel, but you really do care deep down, don't you? That's why you want me now, to find him? So you can come and save the day? What would you do with yourself if he did die? You will lose even more than you thought possible. But at the same time, it will teach you to NEVER mess with me, or my pack again. I will make sure the child is killed and you will have no one to blame but yourself." Then she released him and sprinted off to find Danny.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Danny woke up the next morning covered in filth and grime. Inhaling sharply, he sat up to stretch but instead, hit his head on the low ceiling of the shelter. "Ow." He thought quietly, running a now human hand through his matted hair, only to pull back and find the sticky substance that was dripping from the ceiling last night."That's just disgusting."

Stepping outside, he looked at the sky, it was faintly showing signs if darkening. "How long was I asleep?" Suddenly, the ground lurched from under him. Danny had to lean against the wall of the tavern, his head was throbbing again.

He looked up as a car whizzed by the building. "What am I doing? I can't stay out here; people will start to get suspicious when they see a teenager with a cast wandering around in a hospital gown."

"Hey!" He jumped in surprise at the booming voice. A tough looking figure had approached without him noticing. "What are you doing behind my shop?" He cowered slightly under the person's intrusive glare. Danny's gaze wandered over the man's tattooed arms, which seemed perfectly capable enough to snap a teenage boy in half. He tried his best to pull off an innocent smile. It wasn't going very well. Finally Danny gave up and took off running.



Vlad Masters paced restlessly in his mansion. Things definitely were not turning out as planned. Instead of having expert help on finding the boy, he had set a ruthless killer after him. Vlad wouldn't be able to find him in time; that was out of the question. He sighed and sat down on the couch, trying to clear his thoughts. A half opened newspaper rested on the coffee table next to him. It showed a Danny's smiling face; along with a ridiculously long article on how he mysteriously went missing. Vlad looked away; he was burning with something he hadn't felt in a very long time. Guilt.

One of his many cats prodded his hand with its nose. He lifted it up into his lap and scratched it lovingly behind the ears. "What is Daniel doing right now?" he thought. Was he scared? Sad, maybe? The boy never really expressed any emotion around him, besides hate, that is. Vlad's expression saddened even more as he imagined Danny crouching alone in an alleyway somewhere, trying to block out the winter's cold winds. "Not to mention he has a fever." He told himself bitterly.

"How did Daniel get a fever? He looked perfectly fine when I interrogated him the other night," Vlad was asking the cat now. It just continued to purr. He held it up, Maddie flashed across the cat's collar tag.

Maddie. The name brought back so many memories.

It caused him to look over at the old college photo on his mantle. The good days, when Jack was someone he called a friend, before the accident that ruined his life. Next to that, was a picture of Danny and Jazz. Originally the photo had contained the entire Fenton family but Vlad couldn't bear to see Jack and Maddie together in the same picture like that, so he had cut them out, leaving the two siblings.

Vlad stroked the cat thoughtfully, "Daniel and Jasmine, they did get along pretty well, despite their occasional bickering. But what brother and sister don't argue once in a while?" A sudden idea crossed his mind. "I'll bet Jazz is feeling pretty upset about what happened to Danny. This just could be the help that I've been looking for..."



Once Danny felt he had put enough distance between himself and the tavern, he dared to stop running. The moment he stopped the dizziness came back, this time worse than ever. Moaning softly, Danny fell to his knees holding his head.

After a while the pain resided and he looked up. Thick tree trunks rose from the ground every few yards, below them, the ground was littered with dead leaves. "So these are the woods that border Amity Park." He thought silently. "I guess I should find out where I am exactly."

With that, he changed into Phantom and flew upward over the trees. Danny scanned the area. The sky was getting really dark now. Town could distantly be seen off to the north. "Well, where do I-!!!!" Danny's thoughts were cut off by the sharp pain again. He momentarily blacked out and fell back into the trees.

"Ow, I hurt…….." Danny slowly opened his eyes to find himself entangled in the branches, sharp twigs jabbing here and there. He phased out and floated to the ground. "Okay, flying isn't going to work." He feebly slid down against the tree. The sky was almost completely dark now. Danny watched his hands blankly as fur grew its way around his fingers.

A chattering squirrel distracted him from his thoughts. Danny let out a low, dog-like whine. Immediately his mind split into a two sided argument. "No, don't even think about it, you still have more dignity than that." "But it looks like it could pass for food... I am part wolf now anyway, don't wolves eat squirrels?" "It's sick and WRONG" Danny looked away. His stomach growled, reminding him of how hungry he was. He glanced back up at the squirrel. "It can't hurt to try..."



Vlad Plasmius floated invisibly in front of the window to Jazz's room. She was in there, along with the two teens that usually tagged along with Danny wherever he went. They were talking, Jazz was holding a newspaper. Vlad took a deep breath; he had to do this. There was no turning back now. "Come on Vlad, just swallow your pride for now, do it for the boy."Grimacing, he phased into the room, becoming visible.

The kids jumped in surprise at the halfa's sudden appearance. Jazz rolled up the paper and held it like a weapon. "Now really children, there's no need to get violent." Vlad said, holding her arm back. "What do you want fruitloop?" she snarled. "FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT A-"he paused sighed hastily, regaining his temper. Releasing her wrist, he said, "Look, I know you' re all probably devastated about what happened," Vlad dodged a punch from Tucker, "but believe me, I can help." "You? Help?" Sam said in disbelief, "This is all your fault! You and your stupid plots! You didn't even stop after he was hospitalized! That wasn't enough? Is that why you went and gave Danny a fever too?" "What are you talking about child?" "You know what! The antidote!" Vlad suddenly understood what she was saying. Now he felt guiltier than ever.

Jazz didn't miss the look on his face. She motioned for Tucker and Sam to come closer. The kids huddled together in hushed conversation, stopping to glance at him every once in a while. Vlad crossed his arms moodily. "How rude can they get?" he thought.

Finally they broke up. Jazz stepped forward, "Okay Vlad, we'll give you a chance, but what can you do to help?" I can help find him of course! But the situation might be more serious than you kids realize." Jazz raised her eyebrows at this. "Let's say…. There was someone after Danny and they wanted to…. I don't know…. Finish what they've done?" "Vlad, WHAT did you do?" "It wasn't my fault!" the kids looked doubtful at that. "Look I'll explain what happened."……

"You jerk!" Sam shouted a few minutes later. Vlad looked offended yet stung at the same time. Jazz stepped between them. "So can you start searching tonight?" she asked, changing the subject. "As soon as possible." He replied, relieved that at least one of them trusted him. "Good, now it said in the paper that a wolf human was spotted southward, near the border of Amity Park, you know by the hospital." She gave him a look. "That's awfully close to my house." He murmured. "Exactly." Jazz replied.

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

Back in the woods, Danny ran a dog-like tongue along his whiskers. The remains of a squirrel were scattered across the ground. "Sam's never going to forgive me for that." He thought, imagining how his vegetarian friend would react if she knew he had just eaten such an adorable little rodent. A black scorch mark showed on the tree trunk where he had blasted the poor thing with an ecto-blast.

Danny yawned, "I should turn in, I feel the headache coming back." A cold breeze ruffled his fur. He pressed against the tree and swept his tail in close. Thin flakes of snow started to fall. "Dang, its cold……."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Vlad and the 'Ghost Getters' strided hurriedly down the dark sidewalks of Amity Park, breath coming out in thick fog. Their footsteps echoed off the empty and frost-lined streets. "Now, I will search from the skies while you kids search from below." Vlad said, handing them each a Fenton Thermos. "Wait a minute, who put you in charge?" Sam questioned crossly, ripping the thermos from his hands. "I did." He said simply, continuing to walk; leaving Sam glaring after him, looking ready to kill. "Come on then." Vlad called smoothly over his shoulder.

Tucker waited for her to catch up. "Just let him do what he wants for now, Jazz is right, it can be useful to have a ghost's help." she scowled at this. "Even if it does mean putting up with this jerk." He added. Sam nodded reluctantly and jogged over to Jazz and Vlad, who were staring over the upcoming hedges, stopping abruptly when she saw what they were looking at.

An important looking vehicle was parked in the snow by the entrance to the woods, caution tape was strapped along the trees, but worst of all, the Guys in White were patrolling the area.

"It looks like we're not the only ones looking for a werewolf." Vlad muttered. Without warning, he whipped around and ordered, "Hold hands." "WHAT?" Tucker asked in disbelief. "Do it." He snapped back. While the kids did what they were told, Vlad changed to Plasmius and roughly grabbed Jazz's wrist. The group turned invisible. "Now follow." He said quietly but sharply, leading them though the bushes and into the trees.

Once they were far away from the government search teams, Vlad changed them back to normal. Tucker pulled his hands back gratefully and wiped them fretfully on his jeans. "Now, you kids remember to do exactly as I say," Vlad said importantly, handing Jazz a map with instructions. Sam rolled her eyes and turned away, it didn't go unnoticed. He turned to her. "and I don't want any attitude," I'm going to kill him." Sam thought to herself. "you will show respect," "control yourself…" "loyalty," "hold it…" "gratitude," "I can't take it…." know how to treat your superiors….. Sam lost it, swinging around; she punched him square in the face.

Vlad recoiled in surprise. Jazz held Sam back, "What are you doing?" she asked in shock. Sam had a demon-like look in her eyes. "Danny was right, that feels really good." She snarled .Vlad recovered and stepped forward, wiping blood from his nose. Jazz released Sam and stood protectively in front of her "Why you filthy little -" he stopped quickly at the sound of a charging ecto-gun. Tucker was aiming directly at him. Vlad sighed and closed his eyes, a muscle twitched in his neck. "Now let's calm down, we're all a little moody." Sam made a doubtful sound. Snapping his eyes open, Vlad said, "ANYWAY I'll meet you kids at my house in an hour."

"I still don't see why we couldn't have used the BOOmerang," Tucker complained, pocketing the gun. Jazz looked impatient, "Because, if you had been listening to me earlier, you would have known that Danny had taken it out of the lab to find the wolf and never told me where he left it!""Right!" Tucker said, pretending like he remembered. "Let's go." Sam called, already trudging through the frosted leaves. The kids followed her while Vlad took to the air, making sure his cape whipped in Sam's face before taking off.

Breaking above the trees, he paused to take in the moment. Flying felt wonderful after so many days of worry, but the enjoyment soon faded away, the air was too cold to be happy for long, not to mention he was speeding through it miles an hour. Vlad slowed down and scanned the area more carefully. Thick branches were making the ground harder to see, even though their leaves had been stripped clean off in the last month.

After several minutes he began to feel discouraged. "Come on Vlad, you knew this would happen, this is exactly why you came crawling to the teenagers for help." He flew faster; suddenly a different thought came to mind, making him stop altogether. "If Daniel doesn't want to be found, he's probably going to make himself difficult to see from the skies…" now Vlad was feeling thoroughly frustrated. "BUTTER BISCUITES! He yelled, finding that replacing swearing with food-related words helped with his anger issues.

"Stay calm Vlad, being mad all the time isn't healthy." He thought, taking a deep breath. A noticeable gap in the trees caught his attention. "Why didn't I notice that sooner?" He flew closer; the branches looked like they had been burned off. "It looks like the kind of damage an ecto-blast would do… Daniel was here..." he picked off a piece of scorched bark and crumpled it thoughtfully between his fingers. "and I'll bet he's still close by…"

Vlad sank down to the ground, staring at the black powder in his hand. The evidence looked promising. He turned around, sure enough, a werewolf Danny was curled stiffly up against a nearby tree. Vlad sighed in relief and walked over to the boy. As he got closer, the relief washed away. The teenager's appearance was noticeably different now that Vlad has a better view. Danny's chestnut pelt was matted down in feverish sweat, getting little protection from what looked like a filthy and torn hospital gown. The cast on his shoulder looked about ready to fall off, and he looked very disturbed in his sleep, flank rising and falling in quick shallow breaths.

Vlad felt panic rise in his chest, even with a partial college education, he could recognize the symptoms when he saw them. Danny was falling into a hypothermic state. For a moment, Vlad considered going back to fetch the 'Ghost Getters' (If that really is their real name.) He shook his head, "No, the kids can wait; Daniel needs help NOW," Vlad eased Danny into his arms, careful to avoid waking him; the last thing they both needed was a fight…"



Several minutes later, Vlad landed them in the lab of his mansion. Danny had started shivering on the ride back. "It could be worse." He walked Danny over to the table. As soon as he rested him down on the table, Danny's eyes flickered open. "Oh fudge…" Vlad muttered. "Vlad?" Danny stared at his arch enemy in a mix of horror and surprise. "Don't move Daniel, you're very ill." He replied in a commanding tone, not ready to put up with the younger halfa's attitude. Danny glared defiantly at him and sat up shakily, immediately, the glare was replaced by a sickened look. Vlad placed a firm hand on Danny's chest and pushed him back down on the metal surface, "I said don't move!" "I feel fine!" "You're suffering from hypothermia! Do you even know what that means?" "It means I'm cold, which I'm not!" "Look at you, you're shaking! Don't tell me that's natural!" "Well, I FEEL warm!" Vlad sighed impatiently, "That's not a good thing! I don't think you understand how serious this is!"The younger halfa protested and struggled. "Don't make me tie you down Daniel!" He felt the werewolf reluctantly go limp under his hold, but that didn't stop him from throwing the older halfa dirty looks while he got supplies out. One in particular included a clear mask attached to a hollow tube.

Vlad noticed his patient stiffen as he held it over him. "I'm not going to hurt you," he told the teenager gently. Danny didn't look convinced. Vlad strapped it on anyway. His panicked expression increased when the older halfa attached the opposite end of the tube to a small machine and flipped the switch. Hot air blew in Danny's face, a few seconds later, he felt himself losing a grip on consciousness. "Vlad…" He said weakly, fighting to stay awake. "Yes?" "I … hate you… sooo much…" Vlad smiled sadly and tousled the boy's hair. "I know Daniel, I know." With that, Danny fell into a shuddering sleep.

While he rested, Vlad covered the younger halfa in thick layers of blankets. Once that was done, he turned out the lights. "Goodnight little badger." He said softly before closing the door behind him.



The next morning, Vlad came back to check on Danny, finding him as completely out as ever. Older halfa put a hand to the child's forehead. "At least he stopped shivering." He thought, checking the temperature that flashed on the monitor. "In fact he's well enough to move into his room…" Vlad removed the mask picked the boy up with little trouble at all. Danny hung there like a ragdoll, muttering something in his sleep. "If only he were awake, I would never be able to do this."

Vlad carried the younger halfa to his new room, resting him on the bed. Danny didn't react as the covers were pulled over him. Vlad watched the teenager, listening to his slow, steady breathing. After some thought, he ran downstairs and returned, placing some clothing and water by his bed. Then he left Danny in peace.



Just as he settled down in his office, the phone rang. "Just what I need." Vlad let it ring ……"Vlad?"……. "Vlad pick up! I know you're there!" He gave up. "What is it Jasmine?" "You know what! How's Danny?" Vlad sighed; he did at least owe her a bit of respect. After he knocked Danny out, the kids had arrived at his door, and it was Jazz who helped convince them to let him keep their friend at his house. "Yes, he's sleeping," Vlad replied, a bit impatient sounding. Jazz ignored this, "Well anyway, Sam and Tucker wanted me to tell you that they were stopping by to check on him after school." "Wonderful." "Good, then I'll talk to you later then." Jazz was starting to sound a little irritated. "Bye." Vlad placed the phone back on its receiver. Glancing at the clock he thought, "Daniel will want to be awake so he can see his friends."

He stared at the pile of papers before him with little disappointment. "I guess I won't be getting much work done today." Again, he headed up to Danny's room. "I guess it's better not to let him sleep in so long anyway." Vlad paused at the door, various sounds could be heard. He stepped inside, Danny wasn't in bed.

Vlad started to become frantic before he noticed the bathroom door was open, running water could be heard inside. Having relaxed, he walked over. A human Danny could be seen with his head in the sink. "Daniel?" Vlad asked curiously. The boy jumped in surprise at his voice and hit the faucet. "Ow…" he looked up to face him. "What do you want?" Danny demanded, running the sleeve of his newly borrowed clothing across his mouth. "You know, if you were thirsty, I had left some water on your nightstand." "Yeah, like you didn't put some type of drug in it!" Vlad looked stung. "Am I really that hard to trust?" he thought.

"Daniel, if I really wanted to hurt you, wouldn't I have done it by now?" "How should I know? I'm not the fruitloop around here!" Vlad sighed, "Fine, but just know that isn't really sanitary water." Danny rolled his eyes, "If I can eat squirrels, I'm sure I can handle the water from your faucet." His enemy looked a little disgusted at this statement, but didn't question it. "Okay, suit yourself; your friends are coming over in about an hour." Danny watched Vlad distrustfully as he left the room, then he turned and saw the window...






	12. Chapter 11

Vlad leaned back in his chair, staring at the clock. (It's not like there was anything better to do.) He watched the minute hand ease its way over to twelve in roman numerals. _Ding Dong!_ "Right on cue…" Vlad got up to answer the door.

He was greeted by Tucker and a venomous looking Sam. "Hey, come in." Vlad said; a lot more pleasant sounding than the night before. Though he only got a response from Tucker, "Hi."

It was good enough.

"Follow me, I'll show you Daniel's room." The two followed silently, Sam's foul mood was darkening the friendly atmosphere. Vlad stopped suddenly by a door in his seemingly endless hallway. "There you go." He said, opening it.

There was a pause.

"Well, where is he?" Sam demanded. "What do you mean, where is he?" Vlad took a look for himself. The room was truly empty this time. Vlad freaked out. "He was just here!" he fretted, checking the bathroom and closet. He stopped, noticing the window was open. "You let him run off?" Sam exclaimed accusingly. "Oh, so it's my fault your boyfriend jumped out the window?" he spat back. "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

Vlad wasn't listening; his head was out the window, checking the clearing below. "Um, you do realize he probably just used his ghost powers and flew off, right?" Tucker pointed out. "Oh…" they said, feeling a little stupid now.

Vlad changed to Plasmius. "Where are you going?" Sam questioned suspiciously. "To find Daniel of course! It's getting dark out, and let's not forget those Guys in White AND that mangy wolf are after him now." The kids didn't say anything. "Tell Jazz what's happened, then come and help me search." With that, he leapt out the window.



Danny was back in the woods again. "Where to go, Where to go." He gasped as a thin trail of cold air wisped in front of his face. Backing up against a tree and looking to the sky, Vlad could be seen flying overhead. "Great, the fruitloop is after me again." Danny stayed pressed against the trunk until the other halfa was far away; showing no indication of having spotted what he was looking for.



Jazz, Tucker, and Sam slid through the caution tape and entered the woods. "If Vlad had taken the time to explain things to Danny, none of this would have happened." Sam fussed angrily, practically strangling the thermos in her hands.

"Hey, you kids!" "Uh oh…." A government agent approached them, wearing the familiar white uniform. Tucker took a small step back, as if debating whether to run or not. That was a mistake. "Oh, no you don't." the agent grabbed him firmly by the shoulder, "you're all coming with us."



Danny's pace had slowed noticeably in the last hour. He either didn't notice or didn't care when fur and a tail seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. He must have noticed, because then, he moved into the more shadowy parts of the woods. Moonlight made his mind feel hazy. Eventually he stopped, only to rip off the shoes Vlad had given him. His wolf claws had been digging painfully into the leather.

Tossing them carelessly over his shoulder, he continued to walk at his lazy pace. The shoes landed in the bushes with a deep rustle. He stopped abruptly and swiveled his wolf ears backwards. Was it just him, or were the bushes still moving?

It wasn't just him. Danny nervously glanced over his shoulder. The bushes continued to rustle. "Oh man, something's back there." He turned slowly on his heels to face whatever it was. Branches and leaves snapped and parted to reveal a face that was only too familiar. The she-wolf.

Danny felt his fur bristle in surprise, he hadn't been expecting this. Lunai smirked in amusement. "What's wrong ghost child?" Now Danny was really blown away. "You… you talk?" She moved closer, "Oh, I can do a lot more than that." Danny got over his bewilderment enough to manage a threatening glare. Lunai returned it tauntingly. She noticed his tail twitch uncomfortably. "My eyes, they scare you, don't they?" Danny blinked and looked away. She stepped closer again, now she was inches from his face. "No." "No what?" "No! I'm not scared; I'm going to do this again! You've already ruined my life, why are you still after me?"

Lunai drew a bloodthirsty tongue over the tips of her fangs. This was going too far, all she wanted to do was kill the child, not converse with him. Danny seemed to sense the sudden change in the wolf's behavior. The glowing white ring appeared around his waist and started to separate, indicating that he was about to go ghost.

Lunai moved quickly, pressing her paw to his chest, she did what she had done to Vlad. A tampering wave of force overcame Danny, who tensed from the shock. The two rings flickered for a moment before disintegrating into a light blue steam.

"That's not going to work this time." She growled softly, looking him in the eyes again. Danny felt his mind start to go numb. Shaking his head, he backed away. The she-wolf was up to something dark and he was totally defenseless. "Face it, you can't even go ghost." He thought grimly.

Danny had backed into the light without meaning to. Realizing what he had done, he jumped back to the shadows in a skittish manner before a crazy yet somewhat sensible idea occurred to him. Danny gave the other wolf an uncertain glance; she was getting in a hunter's crouch. Closing his eyes, he turned around. "I must be really desperate." Then he stepped forward and willingly exposed himself to the moonlight.



Vlad desperately scanned the woods below, his mind more focused on worrying than on the search. "He could be dead by now for all I know…" A white mass distracted him from his distressed thoughts. Vlad dropped altitude for a closer look. "Oh no, don't tell me that's who I think it is."

The Guys in White were proudly strutting along with various weapons below, undoubtedly searching for Danny; but this time, they were herding a group of miserable teenagers with them. The 'Ghost Getters'. "Of all times to get caught…" Vlad prepared to land so he could give the kids a hand.

Invisibly hidden among the trees, he waited. One of the officers turned and looked directly through him. Vlad stared back and wondered if he had unintentionally made a sound.

Both of them jumped at the sudden sound of distant screeches and howls. "Daniel!" Vlad sped out of the tree towards the deafening noise, not caring when he flew visibly over the heads of the government agents, who followed the anxious ghost.

Vlad crashed into a dramatic scene. Danny and Lunai were withdrawn in a savage dogfight. Brutally tearing at each other, not caring when the other inflicted even the most painful looking wound. Danny seemed pretty confident despite the fact that the she-wolf seemed capable of taking his life with a strong enough blow. "What is he doing? I know Daniel is brave, but he's not stupid, heck, his teeth are thumbtacks compared to those daggers Lunai calls teeth. Why doesn't he just flee? And what's wrong with both of their eyes?"

Lunai dug her nail fangs in Danny's good shoulder; he responded with a shrill squeal and bit down on the nearest part of her he could sink his teeth into. It wasn't very effective. The she-wolf jerked her head back, ripping fur and flesh from his body. Danny squealed again, this time louder than ever as dark red spattered on the ground.

Vlad resisted the urge to cover his ears against the terrible shrieks of pain. He had to help, but how? The two werewolves would probably tear him in half if he got too close. If he tried shooting ecto-blasts, he might hit Danny. Vlad watched helplessly as Lunai moved over the younger werewolf, preparing to lunge forward again. Danny snarled and scrabbled furiously at her face with his claws before wriggling away. She wasn't about to let him get away with that, springing forward, she slammed him down in the shadow of a large boulder, sending dirt and leaves scattering in every direction. Danny gasped from the impact as he jolted back into reality under the shelter from the moon.

The world looked like a large blur before things cleared out. "What just happened…"the younger werewolf stared up at Lunai, who also seemed a bit dazed. She recovered quickly and bared her fangs in his face. Danny watched in horror as his own blood ran down the roof of the wolf's mouth and dripped off her fangs. "Oh God, she's gonna kill me." He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the moment those fangs of death would come down and slit his throat open.

By now Vlad had given up and started taking aim with a glowing red hand, but someone beat him to it. A loud bang sounded from behind. "Wha?" He turned to see the Guys in White hidden behind the nearby bushes.

Danny stayed frozen in that rigid position, the fangs never came. He slowly opened one eye, then the other, more curious than afraid now. Lunai's expression had changed to one of pure horror, focusing on something on the ground that Danny couldn't see. She backed off him one step at a time, still watching the ground. He sat up in confusion. She glanced at him before looking down at the object again. Then she turned tail and fled.

Danny stood, supporting himself heavily on the boulder. Something silver glinted in the leaves. "She's afraid of that?" He looked up for the first time and realized Vlad was there, off to the side, there was what appeared to be the Guys on White trying to avoid being taken down by his sister and friends. He didn't realize until it was too late, one had gotten away from the group. Another loud bang split the air; then everything seemed to slow down.

Danny felt the bullet break through the skin and slide between his ribcage before coming to a halt. He clamped his hands over the wound in cold shock. Red seeped through the fabric of his clothing and outlined his fingers. "Daniel!" Vlad moved forward to help. Danny growled and bared his teeth in warning for the older halfa to stay back.

The silver bullet started to work its magic. Danny screwed up his face in pain as it started to feel like it was burning. The fire got hotter and hotter; then it spread. Flames of pain licked their way around his arms and legs. Danny collapsed, screaming, still clutching his side.

Jazz broke away from the group and rushed over to her brother. "Danny!" He began to gasp repeatedly, never had breathing been so hard or painful. Jazz sat down by him and rested his head into her lap. "Jazz…" He whispered feebly, "Jazz, it hurts…." "Shh... I know; its okay." Though panic was written all over her face .Danny convulsed and groaned loudly before returning to his strained breathing. The blood started to flow faster.

Vlad gave Jazz a helpless look. She returned it understandingly and looked back to Danny, wiping tears from his cheeks, she told him, "Danny, Vlad is here, he's going to help you, alright?" he swallowed and nodded painfully, trusting his sister. Vlad gratefully walked over and knelt beside him, placing his hand on the teenager's heaving sides.

Gritting his teeth, Danny lifted his head and looked at him desperately, using those watery blue eyes to say. "Please don't hurt me." Vlad nodded back reassuringly before making his hand intangible and slipping the bullet out. Danny stared at the small hole in his side, then at Vlad. The older halfa stared back observantly.

Without warning, Danny's head fell back into his sister's lap with a soft sigh. "Daniel?" "Hmm…" he hummed distantly. Vlad exchanged a meaningful glance with Jazz, then together they gently lifted Danny. Vlad took over and let the unresponsive werewolf rest in his arms.

"I'm taking him back to the lab; I don't think any hospital is willing to take care of a werewolf. You and the other two have to travel on foot." "That's fine, Jazz said absently, not taking her eyes off Danny.

After they had reached the sky, Vlad looked down at Danny. "Oh Daniel," he sighed sadly, "mauled, fever, hypothermia, now this? How many times can you fall before you won't be able to get up again?" Danny laid there, eyes only halfway open. What could be seen of them was light blue with a foggy glaze, staring blankly forward into the unknown. He stroked raven black hair out of the boy's face. Danny whimpered lightly and let his head fall against the older halfa's shoulder. Vlad felt his shattered heart break for the second time in his life. "This is all my fault, if I hadn't obsessed myself with this revenge scheme…." He landed them lightly on the roof of his home. "Why do all the good things in my life always go so wrong? Daniel should have been mine; he should have been my son…. Now he could die and it's MY fault!" He watched Danny nod off in shock and exhaustion. "What kind of a father would I be?" Vlad turned them intangible and sank down to the lab with Danny in his arms, weighed down with a lifetime of regrets.


	13. Chapter 12

Vlad lay Danny on the same table that the werewolf had spent resting only the night before. Tiny wolf claws still held a handful of the older halfa's white cape, as if not wanting to leave the safety of his hold. Gently picking them out of the fabric, Vlad placed the furry hand back to the unconscious teenager's side.

Danny's shallow breath changed to a soft wheezing as Vlad began to get various tools and supplies out, sticking various monitors and wires on his patient. By the time everything was hooked up, Jazz had helped herself down to the lab. Vlad greeted her hastily, grateful that she hadn't interrupted any work by bothering to use the doorbell.

Jazz walked straight over to Danny and sat in a chair next to the table. Her brother whined quietly in his sleep as her hand wrapped around his. Vlad looked up from his work to give the teenagers a sympathetic look before getting the heart monitor going. Once it was giving off a satisfying beeping, he glanced over at them again. Tears were running down Danny's face. Vlad narrowed his eyes in concern. "Is Daniel awake? His eyes are still closed…"



Danny felt a warm hand take his. "Jazz…" He thought desperately. "Oh please, what did I do to deserve this?" He tried to open his eyes, but that was nearly impossible. "It's so cold…." The pain had left a long time ago, leaving a numb, stiffening feeling. Danny felt any life that was left in him fading away with every frail beat of his heart, "I don't wanna die…. I don't wanna leave my friends, my family…." He squeezed Jazz's hand. "I can't do this, I just can't…"

Curling his lips over miniature wolf fangs, Danny took a deep breath and cried out with a mournful howl. "Danny!" He heard his sister's voice, high pitched in alarm. The heart monitor went berserk.

After the howl subsided, his eyes shot open, seeing straight out the window. Two burning spheres like moons stared back coldly. Danny inhaled with a weak shudder and went still. The glowing eyes vanished out of sight, Lunai's work was done.

"No!" Jazz broke into a sobbing fit over her brother's body. Danny's chest sank slowly as his last breath drained out of him. His head still turned to the window, the terror of seeing the she-wolf who so willingly participated with the younger halfa's death still frozen in his lifeless blue gaze.

Vlad turned away numbly and switched the screeching monitor off. "It all happened so fast… One minute he's giving me his teenage attitude, the next he's lying dead in my lab. "It's just not possible… "

Is it the power of grief that makes us tell ourselves such lies? Such anguish that makes us forget everything and doubt life itself?

"No, he just can't be gone…" He stayed in that position, too proud to turn around and let Jazz see the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes.

The smell of something burning cut off his train of thought. Vlad spun around, bristling in alarm. Jazz had backed away and was staring in bewilderment at Danny's body. The wolf fur was simmering, smoke started to rise while strands of the chestnut hairs started fall on the metal surface of the table in a fine grey powder. His tail completely smoldered away in a pile of ashes on the floor. Jazz and Vlad could do nothing but stare as Danny's wolfish appearance became more and more human, Several minutes later, the pale body of regular Danny Fenton lay on the table. Vlad cautiously walked over and cupped his hand under the teenage boy's head, lifting it slightly with a quizzical look on his face.

Danny started with a gasp. "Gah!" Vlad yelped in surprise and jumped back, tripping over the chair Jazz had been sitting in just a while ago. Danny's head fell back on the table with a soft thud. He moaned quietly from the sudden movement and began to pant again. "Danny?" Jazz's voice was full of shy hope. "Hmm?" Danny's gaze shifted slightly in his sister's direction. "How are you feeling?" "In pain." He whined, shutting his eyes tearfully.

Vlad recovered from his fall and rushed to the tableside. Danny continued to breathe heavily, seemingly not to noticing his presence. The older halfa glanced uneasily at Jazz, unsure of what just happened. Jazz returned his look blankly. Vlad turned his attention back to the bleeding teenager before him. "Daniel, where does it hurt?" Danny sniveled pathetically, but didn't reply.

Vlad ran his finger lightly along the side where the bullet had hit; he felt Danny flinch back, but still, the younger halfa remained silent except for his pitiful wheezing. "He's getting worse." Vlad thought to himself. "Listen Jazz, I really don't care now if Daniel is a werewolf or not, he looks like a human being now, so we should be able to get him into a hospital without any trouble at all."He moved to pick Danny up again for the third time yet.

Jazz stopped him. "Wait, I can drive him to the hospital, it'll look suspicious if you come without a vehicle of any type anyway. Why don't you put your ghost powers to some other use and find Tucker and Sam?" Vlad raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had been so worried about Danny that he hadn't noticed the two teenager's absence. "Why didn't they return with you?" Jazz began unhooking the wires on her brother, who seemed to be only partially conscious, if conscious at all. "I had to leave them together to take the Guys in White on a false trail; we couldn't lead them to your house." She said, concentrating on her work. "Now help me get him in the car."

Vlad leaned down to lift Danny, too flustered to be disturbed by the fact that Jazz was practically taking charge and bossing him around. "How does she do it? A few minutes ago she was nearly shattered with grief, now she's making plans?" Vlad shook his head and followed her up the stairs.

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The hospital was conveniently close. The staff removed Danny from Jazz's car and left her to wait in the main office. Several silent minutes passed by, during that time she was joined by Vlad, Tucker, and Sam. They acknowledged each other's presence briefly before setting down to a long wait. Minutes ticked by slowly, gradually becoming hours over hours. Finally, the heavy metal door creaked open, a nurse holding a clipboard came out. "Okay, he's awake, one visitor at a time and you get five minutes." He said hastily, motioning for Jazz to come first.

He led her down a deathly quiet hallway, their footsteps echoing off the bleached walls. "Here," The nurse said, holding the door open. "I'll be back in five minutes." Then he left.

Jazz hurried over to her brother's bedside. Danny looked miserable, his grimy raven-black hair hung in his face, which was mostly covered in a clear mask that made a slight steaming sound. The doctors had coated him in layers of gauze and bandages; one pale arm hung off to the side, being supported on a small table. A thick needle was stuck into it, attached to a tube that was dripping some sort of clear fluid from a plastic bag.

Danny watched her tiredly with half open eyes like some abused animal. "Danny?" She asked gently, not quite sure how well he was feeling at the moment. "Uh huh?" he said weakly. Jazz looked a little relieved, a straight answer; that was a good sign. "How… how are you feeling?" "Uuungh." He replied. "Right…" She said sheepishly, not sure of what to say now. They stared at each other for several awkward moments.

"Jazz?" "Yes?" she asked, suddenly attentive. "What happened? You know…. at Vlad's house? "Uh, well, I don't know…" Now Jazz really didn't know what to say, she didn't want to scare her brother by telling him that he died, but wasn't that what really happened? Danny noticed her discomfort, "Jazz," he pressed, "I know you're not telling me something." "Well, he's certainly feeling a little better." She thought to herself. "Jazz!"Danny was starting to sound distressed. "Fine! You sort of… well… died…"

Danny's eyes widened as he glanced at his arm with the needle stuck in it. "I died…" He breathed. "No, it's not like that!" Danny ignored her. "I'm not a werewolf anymore, my werewolf half died!" "What?" Jazz thought for a moment, "No duh, why didn't I think of that?" She thought. "Only silver bullets kill werewolves…" Jazz mused, "Danny was that bullet-" "Yeah, it was silver! That's why that wolf ran off when she saw it…" he paused and took a deep breath, as if the excitement was getting a little overwhelming. "Shh, calm down." She told him softly. "Good grief, for someone who's that heavily drugged with painkillers, he's pretty hyped up." Jazz thought. Danny relaxed and stared back up at his sister, his crystal blue eyes brimming with relief and happiness.

The door opened, revealing the nurse from earlier. "Okay, five minutes is up." Jazz turned to Danny, feeling truly glad for the first time in a long while. Things were finally clearing up. She wiped his dirty bangs out of his face. "I'll come and visit you later okay?" The nurse impatiently tapped the end of his pencil to the clipboard in his hand. "I'll see you later." "Okay." Danny murmured dreamily, suddenly looking tired again. Then the nurse swept out of the room with Jazz close behind.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Amity Park Medical Center- 2 weeks later

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Just like it had been before, recovery was coming along rapidly. The only injuries that could be seen now were on his shoulders and where the bullet had hit.

White gauze had been wrapped entirely around his mid-section. Danny seemed to find this very uncomfortable, and complained about it almost daily; but that only pleased everyone to know he was feeling well enough to go on with his usual fussing.

Lucky for him, the doctors had spared him some peace by not bothering to bandage his shredded shoulders. They did, however, put some type of sticky white substance over the cuts; when Danny, of course, wasn't too thrilled with this either.

Now Tucker and Sam sat by Danny's hospital bed, slight amusement showing on their faces as they watched their friend shove ridiculously huge spoonfuls of food in his mouth at a time. "Well, somebody's feeling better." Sam observed. "Uh huh." Danny replied brightly between bites. "Dude, your acting like you haven't eaten in days, slow down!"Tucker exclaimed. "Oh, look who's talking!" Sam scoffed lightly. "Besides you can't really blame him, it's not like he really has eaten much in the last few weeks." She paused thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, how did you manage to survive on our own like that in the wild? You must have eaten something."

Danny, caught off guard by the question, dropped his spoon and made a slight choking sound. Tucker moved forward to give him a hand, but Danny held him back. Recovering with a few dry coughs he said weakly, "Um, maybe it would be best to answer that another time…" Sam looked curiously at her friend, Danny avoided her eyes nervously. "Okay then…" She changed the subject, "Then what CAN we talk about?"

Danny stared quietly at his plate, suddenly not feeling so hungry. Now that he wasn't a werewolf anymore, the thought of eating squirrels wasn't as appetizing as it once was. Pushing the half eaten meal aside he said, "I don't know, what's new at school?" Sam thought for a moment, but Tucker cut in the conversation. "Well, Dash and Quan have been spreading the craziest rumors about why you've been absent; you won't believe some of the things they're saying." "Tucker! You're not supposed to tell him that, it'll only make him worry!" Sam snapped at him.

Danny shrugged carelessly, he could have expected as much from Dash and Quan, but that didn't really matter. Being at the bottom of the popularity chain, it's not like he really had a reputation to protect at school. "Honestly it's fine, how are things at home?" Sam turned her attention back to Danny. "You should see Jazz; she's been cleaning your room and organizing all of your things as a surprise for your return home. I swear she must have dusted every square inch of your room at least a hundred times." Danny smiled; it was nice to have a sister that cared so much.

A sinister ringtone suddenly filled the room. Knowing Sam, he assumed it was her cell phone. Sure enough, his gothic friend slipped out of the room to take the call. Danny fiddled with his bandages while Tucker watched him, both waiting for her to return.

It didn't take long for Sam to come back in, her face cross with irritation. "I have to go, my parents want me home by this afternoon. "But it's only eleven!" Danny whined. "Come on, you know my mom and dad already think you're one of those kids who like to break the rules." Sam told him, emphasizing 'break the rules'. "Besides, I'll be back later." "I guess." Danny sighed. "I should get going too." Tucker said, joining Sam by the door. "Don't leave me here to suffer the loneliness!" "Hey, Jazz is bound to stop by too, besides," his voice took on a slightly jealous tone, "you have two thousand and fifty two channels to choose from if you get bored." Tucker tapped the T.V. that rested on a table by the door. Danny moodily picked up the remote on his bedstead and spun it in his hand. "I'll see you then." Tucker said. "Fine, see ya later." Danny grumbled.

After the door clicked shut, Danny stared uncertainly at the blank T.V. screen. He didn't really feel like wasting another day away by staring at a screen, yet there really wasn't anything else to do. With a lonely sigh he lay back on his pillows and watched the ceiling instead. "I'm bored…" he thought. Bored, bored, bored, bored…" Danny repeated in his head. "Bored, bored, bored…" He flipped over and peered over the edge of the bed at the floor, "bored, bored, bored, BORED…" out of frustration, Danny began to charge up a small, green ball of plasma in his hand. "Bored, bored, bored…" he began to bounce it back in forth between the palms of his hands. "Bored bored…"

Out of carelessness, the glowing ball slipped between his fingers and spattered on the floor before bubbling out of sight. "That was kinda fun…" He formed another ball of plasma with new purpose and began to bounce it in his hands again, gaining speed every few seconds before that one fell too.

Danny did the same thing again and again, getting enthusiastic about his new little game. Watching the little ball spin through the air and fall inches from the floor before scooping it back up into his hands. Such amusement was thrilling when one was stuck inside all day.

Without warning, Danny gasped. A thin wisp of fog trailed in front of his face. "Having fun Daniel?" A familiar voice sounded from behind. The glowing plasma ball burst on the floor. Roughly jerking himself back into bed, Danny faced his visitor. The older halfa changed back to his human form. "Look, Vlad, if you wanted to visit me, couldn't you at least have used the door like a 'normal' person?" "Oh, but what fun is that?" he replied.

Danny debated or not weather to make a rude comeback. Vlad hadn't shown his face to Danny ever since the day he was cured. Were they still enemies? The teenager tensed as Vlad came forward and lifted his chin experimentally with two fingers. "Feeling better?" Danny stiffly pushed his hand away; staring at him demandingly, wanting answers about his foe's sudden change in behavior in the last month.

"What do you want?" he finally asked. "Just wanted to let you know Lunai has gone back to her pack and still doesn't know you're alive. Let's try to keep it that way, hm?" "Lunai?" Danny inquired. "The wolf." Vlad explained. "Um, okay…" "Anyways, she and her pack live in the hollows beneath Clockwork's lair, just don't get any of your foolish teenage ideas and go wandering around there alright?"

Vlad began to change back to a ghost and face the window. "Wait!" He stopped and turned back to younger halfa who was watching him with a perplexed expression. "Yes?"

Danny paused, not sure how to say this. "Are we still…you know… mortal foes and stuff?" Vlad had to smile at this. "Well, it matters how you see it Daniel, if you think I've given up on Maddie, my DALV and VLADICO company, or anything else that makes you hate me, then you're wrong, and we are still mortal foes." Danny's eyes unintentionally began to glow green as he began to glare at him in irritation.

Vlad had been expecting this, turning back to the window, he said in his usual calm tone, "Mark my words Daniel, I'll be back." He grinned mischievously, "But for now, take care!" With a small wave, he flew off. Danny watched him go. The older halfa's red cape shown briefly against sun before turning invisible.

Lying back in his pillows, Danny noticed something shiny on his nightstand. He picked it up. A gold pin, carved into the shape of a howling wolf. 'Danny Fenton' was etched in bold letters at the bottom.

Danny glanced back out the window in surprise and then back to the small gift in his hand. "Vlad's nice." He thought sweetly, putting the pin safely back on his nightstand.

Danny got comfortable in bed and smiled to himself, "An evil, twisted, plotting, fruitloop, but still, nice."

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Yes! That was the final chapter!!! My first fanfic is done!!! Thanks to all you people who have read and reviewed my story, pointing out my mistakes and and such. (strided isn't a word, who knew?) Also telling me what they liked and what I could improve on. IT WAS VERY HELPFUL!!! I wouldn't have finished if I hadn't known people were actually reading my stuff. Well, I've got to go write, or whatever it is that I do to pass the time. Toodles!


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